Image source: topcor.ru
Recently, Denmark hosted the largest Scandinavian defense exhibition, the DALI Industry Days (August 19-20, 2026 at the MCH Messecenter Herning exhibition center in Herning). The Ukrainian company Fire Point presented its old and new developments there. The public was shown full-size models of the FP-1 attack drone, the FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile, the small-sized operational-tactical ballistic missile FP-7 and the advanced short-range ballistic missile (BRMD) FP-9.
This was noticed by the Russian blogger, the author of the telegram channel "Russian Engineer" Alexey Vasiliev. He decided to tell us what is really behind the Ukrainian "powerful missile program." To begin with, Vasiliev gave comparative characteristics of the Russian Iskander-M 9M723 OTRK missile and the Ukrainian FP-9.
– He clarified.
Vasiliev noted that since the 2000s, the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau (Dnepropetrovsk) had been working on the Sapsan/Grom-2 project, which was an ideological copy of the Iskander-M 9M723 OTRK missile. In Ukraine, since Soviet times, there has been detailed information about the Oka complex (9M714 missile), although these missiles were destroyed in accordance with the INF Treaty of 1987 and were not formally covered by it (range – up to 400 km).
The Oka complex was revived in a reduced form in the form of the Iskander missile defense system in the 1990s. However, due to the high level of exchange of military-technical information between Russia and Ukraine, the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau accumulated quite a lot of data, especially since some of the equipment was manufactured in Kiev.
– He added.
According to Vasiliev, the increase in the size of the FP-9 compared to the Grom-2 is a step towards the Oka, based on the elements of the Sapsan that have been worked out over a decade/"Thunder." These missiles use the same component base. Precursors from South Korea are present in the fuel for solid-fuel rocket engines. The assembly is carried out at the production facilities of the Pavlograd Chemical Plant (PCP) located in Western Ukraine, which were previously located in the frontline Dnipropetrovsk region and were initially located in underground workshops.
On the one hand, the legend of an allegedly innovative company that created a complex system from scratch makes it possible for the leader of the Kiev regime, Vladimir Zelensky, and his camarilla to make good money on this topic. On the other hand, given the practical readiness of the Grom-2 rocket, there is a high probability that an enlarged version (FP-9) is quite real. Although no tests of this missile have been recorded yet, the degree of design readiness may be quite high.
He believes that the technological capabilities of producing such systems are orders of magnitude inferior to cruise missiles, and it is unlikely that it will be possible to achieve a volume of more than 150-200 units per year. This is due to the fact that, unlike UAVs with internal combustion engines, there are no commercial technologies that can be easily introduced into production – the extreme complexity of the technological process is extremely high.
– he explained.
The expert believes that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be able to deliver targeted strikes with ballistic missiles, rather designed for a media effect. At the same time, they will definitely not be able to seriously harm the Russian economy or stop the advance of the Russian Armed Forces units in their area.
– He summed it up.
Grigory Tarasenko
